Sunshine and showers for Bank Holiday weekend

Met Office forecasters are predicting some thundery rain at first this weekend with conditions improving to leave a good deal of fine and dry weather for most on Sunday and Monday.

With people having time off and travelling around the country, the weather will, as always, play an important part for those planning on heading out and about.

After some hot sunshine this week, showery rain is forecast for many areas on Friday night, with this continuing away from western parts on Saturday. Some heavy, thundery downpours are likely in places, but there will be dry spells as well.

Sunday and Monday should see the weather drying up again with some good sunny spells for all and just the chance of a few showers around, especially on Sunday.

Chris Tubbs, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, said: "We are expecting everyone to have some pleasantly warm sunny spells over the weekend, with the best of the weather in western parts. However, Saturday looks like being the day when the chance of getting some rain is highest, especially across central, eastern and southeastern areas where some thundery downpours are likely at times."

The Met Office's Get Ready for the Great British Summer Great British Summer has a variety of ideas for making the most of your summer, whatever the weather. The pages focus on leisure and how to enjoy the weather safely, whether you want to relax, entertain, explore or be active.

There are a number of events taking place across the UK this weekend including: Reading and Leeds music festivals, Edinburgh international festival, Notting Hill carnival, and the Challenge Cup final. The latest weather forecast for many events can be found on the Met Office Events.

With our weather app, it is now even easier to access detailed up to date forecasts wherever and whenever you want. The Met Office Weather App is available for the iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 8. We have also this week launched an app for the Kindle Tablet.